Long Story for background
In early 2021 as I was learning to foil, primarily prone in the surf, I had a fall where I remember hitting the water with a fair impact, I was wearing a Gath helmet at the time however I remember the feeling of how hitting the water at speed from height was different to falling off a surfboard. I dusted myself off and didn't think much of it. A few weeks later I fell out of one of my mango trees when I was pruning it, again a fall of over a metre, I didn't hit my head, but I do recall the sudden stop when I hit the ground. Shortly afterwards I started experiencing a long, protracted headache that lasted more than week and Im the sort of person that never gets a headache or if I do its done and dusted in a few hours with a dose of panadol. Cut to the chase I was eventually diagnosed with a carotid artery dissection, which is where a pseudoanneurysm partially blocks the carotid artery and was most likely caused due to the "fall traumas" I had experienced. Treatment was aspirin to keep the blood thin and avoid clotting and no "dangerous activities" such as foiling or riding dirtbikes....after scans over the ensuing 12 months I was given the all clear and have completely immersed myself into foiling, primarily winging. I always wear an impact vest and a helmet, however I ditched the hard plastic Gath as I felt it actually increased the load on my head and neck as it tends to catch the leading edges and fill with water when taking a dive. I wear a DMS Soft Surf helmet (rugby style) as this fits snugly, keeps me warm in cooler weather and has so far taken a few hits from the board and foil without injury to my head.
Now to the point of this story: a couple of sessions ago I had 2 falls where I hit the water pretty hard, one from an unexpected breach where I was pitched forwards and the other where I fell off during a gybe and landed on my back. In both instances I noticed that my neck took a bit of a stress load and the thought crossed my mind of suffering another carotid dissection due to the impact trauma.
Coming from a dirt bike riding background I saw that the neck brace debate was very divided, with some saying it prevented serious injuries and others saying it actually contributed to more serious injury. As a rider I never wore a neck brace, however I did have the latest helmets with "internal omnidirectional suspension" which helped absorb impacts by allowing the head to have some deacceleration movement within the helmet.
My experiences to date with my head hitting the water wearing a soft helmet have been encouraging, however I am concerned about the loads on my neck.
When I know an impact is coming, is it better to try and tense up to keep the neck aligned or is there a technique that would provide the best outcome, such as a hands on head tuck/body roll to try and absorb the energy?
Does anyone have any experience with neck support or braces specifically applicable to water sports?
I have always worried about the extra momentum from helmet weight in catapults when windsurfing. I do wear a helmet foiling, and tend to crash a lot, but never had any crashes with similar impact. But then, I'm going a lot slower on the foil. Some foil racers like Michele Becker, who foil at twice + my speed and with longer masts, use neck braces routinely.
One thing you can do that should help is exercises specifically for the neck, like lying on your back and lifting the head up. A long time ago when doing judo, those were part of every warmup so you'd last longer if someone got you in a choke hold, and I still do them, especially when expecting speed sessions.
I had to make a neck brace for my son who has a very rare condition (Hiriyama Disease). I made it out of 1inch closed cell moderate stiffness Eva foam.. Stiff enough to provide some support, but not too stiff which would lead to other problems in a crash.
